The breakdown of your de facto (common law) union

The breakdown of your union can have an impact on the amount of the employment earnings recorded under your name under the Québec Pension Plan or Canada Pension Plan, if applicable, as well on any supplemental pension plans, locked-in retirement accounts (LIRAs) and life income funds (LIFs).

Québec Pension Plan

The notion of family patrimony does not apply to de facto (common law) spouses. Nevertheless, in the case of a separation, former de facto spouses can apply jointly for partition of employment earnings recorded under the Québec Pension Plan or Canada Pension Plan, if applicable.

For partition to be carried out, you must meet the following 3 conditions:

You were in a conjugal relationship for at least 3 years, or at least 1 year if a child was born or is to be born of your union, or if you adopted a child.

You have been separated for at least 12 months.

Neither you nor your former de facto spouse were married to or in a civil union with another person during your separation.

If you are receiving a retirement pension and you or your former spouse have applied for pension sharing , it will end at the end of the month in which receive an application to terminate pension sharing signed by one of the de facto spouses. Each of you then receives the same retirement pension (if any) that you were receiving before pension sharing began.